Royal Caribbean Gourmet Series Features Local Chefs

Michael Schwartz will be hosting a foodie cruise onboard the Freedom of the Seas in early January.

​Royal Caribbean Cruise Line is offering a special gourmet series aboard its Freedom of the Seas with some of the top chefs in the country. Guests will participate in a cocktail reception with a celebrity chef. They'll also receive special in-suite gifts, dine with the chef onboard, take a VIP tour of the private galley, enjoy a private wine tasting, attend a lecture with the celebrity chef, and learn some cooking tips.

For this series, which runs from September through next February, Miami is well represented with local toques like Ortanique's Cindy Hutson (September 19), Johnny V's Johnny Vinczencz (October 3), Timo's Tim Andriola (October 17) and Michael's Genuine's Michael Schwartz (January 2). Other notable kitchen idols include two Top Chef grads, Carlos Fernandez (October 31) and Spike Mendelsohn (February 6). These chefs get a free cruise and foodies will have the opportunity to live out their Food Network fantasies on the water.

This gourmet cruise will set sail each week in the Fall and Winter from Port Canaveral, and visit ports in the Caribbean like the Bahamas, St. Thomas, Haiti, Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Mexico. It's not all about the food, though: The 1,112-foot ship has a waterpark, rock climbing wall, ice skating rink, spa, casino, 9-hole mini golf course, and sports pool. We'd like to check out some of these amenities with Michael Schwartz. But in order to participate in their Epicurean Discovery program, guests must book a suite or better. Bon voyage!